Obvious parallels?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
Delhi row over bus lane reveals class divide in society
(10 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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Remarkable to see a picture of an Indian road not clogged with traffic... Having been driven into Delhi I can confirm that the traffic is utter chaos (as with anywhere we travelled in north India, save perhaps the hilltowns, but we got there by 'toy' train).
On the main roads it's completely normal to find people driving on the wrong side of the road, even on big dual carriageways. Traffic lights are meaningless, with junctions just a total stramash. Kolkata especially was so clogged it was astonishing you moved at all.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Yup. And it used to be routine for people to basically buy a driving licence with bribes rather than face all the hassle of driving lessons and tests, so loads of drivers don't have a clue.
A few years ago in Bangalore we had an autorickshaw driver who obviously didn't understand what traffic lights were for.
Out in the country, Might Is Right in a big way - big Tata lorries thunder down the middle of the road and permit no opposition.
Unless the local farmers or fishermen have decided to dry their crop or mend their nets in the middle of the road, in which case all the traffic diverts through the nearby field instead.
Some Indian rules of thumb:
- The bigger the vehicle, the more it has priority.
- pedestrians are part of the traffic and walk on the left.
- so are oxen, camels, handcarts etc.
- if two vehicles of the same size meet head on, the one to flash its lights first gets priority.
- when you're behind someone, sound your horn.
- when you're approaching someone, sound your horn.
- when you're ahead of someone, sound your horn.
- when you're overtaking someone, sound your horn.
- when someone sounds their horn, sound your horn.
etc.The Delhi Metro has helped that city a lot but even then you have to spend ages queueing for a ticket and jamming yourself into a crowded train.
Posted 12 years ago # -
What happens if you run over a cow?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Interesting to see the bus lanes are in the middle of the road. That makes a lot of sense if you can solve the 'how to get to the bus stop' problem.
From the text of the article it sounds like bus users have to cross through the traffic (which, although probably slowly moving, doesn't sound like fun).
My experience of Mumbai matches those of W's Cow and cc.
The horn peeping drives you crazy.I did like:
"Car owners are the creators of wealth. Do you realise that they get exhausted sitting in their cars due to traffic jams and they reach office completely tired? It affects their efficiency. Do you want them to perform less?"
Posted 12 years ago # -
"What happens if you run over a cow?"
I get very annoyed...
Posted 12 years ago # -
the BRT lane caused chaos because it was in the middle of the road and people wanting to board the bus had to cross the busy road to get to the bus stops.
But that's ok, because the lane for car drivers is now stationary.
What happens if you run over a cow?
One doesn't.
I remember reading that in Delhi it's a car's horn that wears out the fastest. Meanwhile in LA, as Jay Leno once quipped, your horn has a caliber of nine millimetres.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Simple, Park & Ride's for the car owners
Posted 12 years ago # -
Yes, well that pretty much sums it up. the problem is the culture which says, if you have a car you have to drive it. and that if you don't have a car, you are less significant/productive etc.
Posted 12 years ago # -
From the article: "You cannot keep a commander-in-chief waiting in traffic while his army is waiting for his orders. How does it matter if a peon reaches office five minute before time?"
Clearly, this does not apply in a society such as ours where the majority drive (rather than India, where only 10% do). Yet I am sure there are many here who think in this way about public transport users. What on earth must they think about cyclists?
Posted 12 years ago #
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